One of the things I love, and I'm a voracious reader as well as a writer, is books that surprise me, that are not predictable.

Now I understand why King Stannis let the wildlings through the Wall. He means for us to eat them.

And all was black and still, and black and cold, and black and dead, and black.

Drowning was bad enough. But drowning sad and sober, that's too cruel.

Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs." And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.

He did not know which was more painful, the waking or the sleeping. When he slept, he dreamed: dark disturbing dreams of blood and broken promises. When he woke, there was nothing to do but think, and his waking thoughts were worse than nightmares.

Summer is the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths.